By: Curtis Morton
The opening ceremony of the Kiddy Cricket summer camp which is a collaborative effort of the West Indies cricket Board and Scotia Bank took place at the ET Willet Park on Monday 15th July.
The ceremony was chaired by Mr. Stascius Wallace, Treasurer of the Nevis Cricket Association who also delivered the invocation.
Sports Coordinator within the Ministry of Education, Ms Michelle Sutton, congratulated the WICB and Scotia Bank for their collaborative efforts in the development of the children and noted that the program fell right in line with the goals of the Education Department towards the their holistic development.
President of the Nevis Cricket Association, Keith Scarborough, addressed the gathering and stressed on the requirement for discipline. He indicated to the young cricketers that they were surrounded by a number of distinguished top cricketers and coaches and that they should use the opportunity to learn as much as they could.
He also noted that Nevis has three players in the current Leewards Islands under 15 team in N’cosie George; Jevani Tyson and Marcus Dubbery, while the current LI under 19 team has Saeed Williams and Ross Powell, among others.
‘You have many positive role models to emulate,’ he told them. Ms Michelle Liburd, Asst Secretary within the Ministry of Sports, noted that the children will be coached in the fundamentals of the game and urged them to pay close attention to their coaches and ask relevant questions when they were not sure.
She elaborated on the benefits of cricket and sports in general, as an avenue for advancement in life— physical, psychological and financial.
She saluted the coaches and told the young cricketers of their achievements as she refereed to Derrick Parry, Stuart Williams; Livingstone Lawrence and Elquemedo Willet.
‘You do not have to look very far for positive role models,’ she stated.
Chief coordinator of the program, the Leeward Islands Territorial Development Officer, Junie Mitchum, noted that the Scotia Bank/WICB kiddie’s cricket program has played a significant role in the sustainability and continued development of West Indies cricket by creating a solid foundation for basic cricketing skills. These include: Batting, bowling, fielding, wicket keeping, personal life style development and the history of the game.
He noted that the program will run for one week and will include a series of competitive matches between the youngsters towards the end of the camp.
Local Branch Manager of Scotia bank, Mr. Charles Morton, gave the participants an inspirational pep talk. He noted that the collaborative effort between the WICB and his institution commenced just over ten years ago and stated that the program was a graduation into the grass roots program.
He stressed on five words:
Integrity—interact with each other honorably
Respect—remember others may not be as good as you are
Success-for yourself, team and country
Insight—use your knowledge to come up with the right solutions
Spirit—give it your energy—give it your all
The participants then went straight into the on field activities at the conclusion of the opening ceremony.